Trust in Me

by Samantha Chase

  “Are you okay?”

  Maggie looked up at him. “What? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. It’s going to take a while for the crowd to thin out so I figured what’s the rush?” She sighed and just looked around the grand arena. “Think of the history of this place,” she said in a near whisper. “How many games, events, and concerts has it seen? The number of people who’ve been here…it’s amazing.”

  Jason sat down in the row in front of her and looked around. He’d never even given a thought to where he watched his sports, but the look of wonder on Maggie’s face had him thinking about her words.

  “I know it sounds silly and a bit clichéd, but it would be amazing if these walls could talk,” she said softly, more to herself than to Jason. With a quiet sigh, Maggie stood and stretched. “Ready to fight the crowds once again?”

  Jason stood. “I think we’ll be okay; it’s pretty empty in here already.” Wordlessly, they walked up the steps to the nearest exit and he noticed how Maggie took one more wistful look over her shoulder before walking through the doors. He wished that there was something he could say; something insightful but decided to just let her have her moment.

  They were outside finally and Maggie was a bit chilled but the thought of finding a cab seemed daunting. Jason read the indecision on her face. “It’s not as hard as it seems. The trick is to walk a couple of blocks and then hail one.”

  Maggie nodded. “That makes sense.” They walked silently up 7th Avenue toward Times Square. The city was so alive, she thought to herself and even though they had walked everywhere during the day, there was something magical about the city at night. How had she lived so long without experiencing so much? The way that she lived had never really bothered Maggie before, but now? Traveling with Jason? She realized that there was an entire world out there that she was missing out on.

  Before she knew it, Jason had stopped and a cab was pulling up beside them. She climbed in and listened as he told the driver where to take them and then sat back and watched the city streets speed by. She didn’t realize that she’d let out a sigh until Jason spoke.

  “Did you want to walk some more?”

  “Oh, no, it’s just that there’s so much to see. My feet are a bit sore and I know that taking a cab is the right choice…”

  “But…” he prompted.

  She smiled, “But, I like to think that I’m super-human and could handle walking the mile or so back to the hotel.”

  Jason chuckled. “Well, if we hadn’t walked so much today I might have considered it but I’m not as super-human as I’d like to be either. I think that tomorrow my body is going to be cursing me.”

  Maggie laughed out loud and Jason joined her. When they arrived back at the hotel they commiserated like an elderly couple at all of their aches and pains and Maggie was literally having a fit of the giggles by the time the elevator stopped at their floor.

  Outside of her door, she took a deep breath and turned to face Jason. “Thank you so much for such an incredible night. It was absolutely the best.”

  He arched a dark brow at her. “Seriously? It was hot dogs and fist fights!”

  “Are you crazy?” she laughed. “It was a chance to do something that I’ve always wanted to do! It wasn’t about the food, per se, it was about the entire experience. I finally got to experience a night at the Garden as an adult who got to scream and yell and watch her team win!” Maggie caught herself before she flung herself at Jason and hugged him again. She was starting to like doing that too much.

  With a steadying breath, she opened her door. “Anyway, it was a fabulous night, Jason. Thank you for making the time for us to do this.” Her tone was serious as was the expression in her eyes. She stood there staring at him for a long moment and almost caved and leaned toward him, something that he seemed about to do himself, when she took a step back. “Good night,” she whispered and went into her room and closed the door.

  ****

  Jason stood in the hallway and just stared at Maggie’s door for far longer than he should have. He was confused and disappointed and didn’t know why. It was the sound of voices coming off of the elevator that finally had him moving and entering his own room and once inside he was too keyed up to go to sleep.

  Glancing at the bedside clock he noticed that it was barely eleven o’clock. It was late, but not too late to call the one person who could possibly help shed a little light on who exactly Maggie Barrett was.

  Kicking off his shoes, Jason pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found who he wanted, then relaxed on the bed and waited.

  “Jason?” his father said by way of greeting. “Is everything okay?”

  “Hey, Dad,” he said easily, the sound of his father’s voice bringing a smile to his face. “I’m fine; I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing.”

  “At eleven at night? Lucky for you I’m in the study and your mother is upstairs reading, otherwise she’d think that there was some sort of terrible emergency that had you calling so late at night.”

  “Stop with the theatrics, Dad,” Jason chided softly. “I know it’s a bit late but…”

  “Are you sure everything is okay? Is it the meetings? Are they going all right? I haven’t seen any red flags in what you’ve been sending in.”

  “No, no…it’s not the meetings; everything is fine there.”

  William was silent for a moment, hoping his son would elaborate. When he didn’t, he tried to prompt him. “So where are you now? Still in Boston? You’re due in New York on Monday, right?”

  “Actually, we’re in New York now. We drove down late last night after our last meeting and decided to relax this weekend.” Jason couldn’t hide the smile in his voice. “I took Maggie to a hockey game tonight.”

  “Hockey?” William said with disbelief. “Why on earth would you take Maggie to a hockey game?”

  Jason laughed. “Believe it or not, she’s a fan. For a woman who is quiet and unassuming during the day, she is a rabid hockey fan when watching her team play. It was quite an eye opening experience.”

  Something in his son’s tone caught William’s attention. “So she’s a hockey fan? Who would’ve guessed? I can’t imagine her sitting there in one of her conservative outfits, hair all pulled back, yelling and cheering for her team.”

  “There was no conservative outfit, Dad. She wore her hair all loose and wavy and a pair of jeans and a New York Rangers sweatshirt…she fit right in. She was like a kid in a candy shop; we ate hot dogs and pretzels and drank beer and Maggie said it was the best night.” Jason sighed. “I never met a woman who was content to just eat hot dogs and drink beer.”

  William was glad that Jason could not see him grinning like a cat that had eaten the canary. “Not all women want to be wined and dined, Jace. Maggie’s a sensible girl with simple tastes. I’m sure that she’s unimpressed with the whole concept of spending a lot of money frivolously.”

  His father’s words made sense but Jason knew that he had a ton of questions that he needed answered if he was going to figure Maggie out. “No, you’re right; Maggie’s definitely not impressed with money. We’re at the Four Seasons and she just about freaked out on me for spending the money.”

  William chuckled. “Sounds just like her. How did you end up there? That wasn’t on your agenda.”

  Jason explained about how their last minute change of plans had dictated the change in hotels. “The thing is, I never gave much thought to where we stayed. All our lives we’ve stayed at some of the finest hotels in the world and to me, they’re just a place to sleep but the look of awe and wonder on Maggie’s face when we walked in? It was priceless.” An image of that face came to Jason’s mind. “Then she was embarrassed because she didn’t think she was good enough to stay here.”

  “Well I hope you convinced her otherwise!” his father scolded.

  “Of course I did! Geez, what do you take me for? An idiot?” Jason sat up and raked a hand through his hair. “Look, there are some
things about Maggie that just don’t…fit.”

  William arched a brow and waited. And waited. He knew his son well and knew that Maggie was starting to get to him and he was both anxious to know more about her and embarrassed to ask. “Like what?” he finally asked.

  “Okay, for starters, there’s the fact that she’s even on this trip with me.”

  That wasn’t where William had thought Jason would start but he’d go with it. “Why is that a problem?”

  “It goes back to that initial interview. Why has she worked for us for so long and I’m just now seeing her and hearing about her? How could you leave her down in customer service for so long when she is clearly such an asset to the company?”

  “It wasn’t my decision to make, Jason. Maggie didn’t want to be an assistant; she was happy working in a low-pressure job. It was what she wanted.”

  “But why? She’s so talented and so intelligent! What happened at her last job to make her just completely want to hide away in a mindless position?”

  “That’s not for me to discuss with you. Have you asked her?”

  “What? No!” Jason nearly shouted, frustrated that his father wasn’t giving him any information at all. “Look, you seem to know Maggie very well and I’m asking you to help me fill in some blanks!”

  “Jason, she’s your assistant; you work with her every day. Surely you must have some down time where you’re not talking about business. Why don’t you ask about her personal life?”

  “Because when I do she…changes. I can’t quite explain it but any mention of her personal life and she just sort of goes blank. I tried inviting her husband up here for the weekend and she nearly bit my head off!”

  William stifled a laugh. “I think maybe you’re over-exaggerating, Jason. Why would she be mad about you inviting her husband to come to New York for the weekend?” William knew exactly why but he was curious to hear how Maggie had managed to find her way out of that particular situation.

  “That’s what I’d like to know! If you ask me, this guy must be a world-class jackass.”

  “Why?”

  Where did he even begin? Jason stood and began pacing the large room. “Okay, first of all, he let her come on this trip.”

  “And that makes him a jackass? If you remember correctly, you specifically asked for a married assistant who would travel with you. We found you one! How could that be a bad thing?”

  “It’s not that it’s bad, not really, but he just doesn’t seem to care that she’s away. From what I can tell, he doesn’t call Maggie and she doesn’t call him. Doesn’t that seem odd to you? You call mom every day!”

  “Well, your mother and I aren’t like a lot of married couples. Maggie’s young; I’m assuming her husband is young, as well. How do you know they aren’t calling one another?”

  “Because I never see her on the phone!”

  “Are you sharing a room with her?” William asked innocently.

  “Dammit, Dad, you know we’re not! Why would you even such a thing?”

  “I’m just saying, Jace, that you have no idea what she’s doing in her room when she’s away from you. For all you know she’s curled up in bed right now, all relaxed and sweet talking her husband.”

  That image lodged itself in Jason’s mind and made him angry. His hands were clenched at his sides and he wanted to walk across the hall, kick down Maggie’s door and see if that was the case. His father’s voice was the only thing stopping him.

  “You can’t get angry at Maggie for doing what you asked,” William sweetly reminded his son.

  “What the hell did I ask?”

  “You made it clear that you didn’t want to waste time dealing with a needy spouse. Sounds to me like she is following your rules, not spending her work hours on the phone and keeping her personal life separate from your business hours.”

  When his father said it, it made sense, but to Jason it still didn’t seem to fit. “Okay, sure, fine, I guess that could be the way that it is,” he said finally.

  “But…” William prompted.

  “We went to a benefit the other night,” Jason began, “and we danced.” For a brief moment Jason could swear that he could still feel Maggie in his arms and then remembered that he was supposed to be proving a point to his father. “And she said that the last time she danced was in high school at her prom.”

  Unable to help himself, William let out a hearty laugh. “Son, I’m sure you’re trying to tell me something but for the life of me, I don’t know what it is!”

  “Married couples dance, Dad! At their wedding, on dates or whatever,” he said defensively. “How is it that Maggie could be married and not having been dancing since high school?”

  “Maybe her husband’s a poor dancer?”

  “Or maybe he’s just a jerk,” Jason countered. “Look, all I’m saying is that the guy seems to show absolutely no interest in Maggie and that any time we go anywhere or do anything it’s like she’s…living for the first time! I have to be honest with you, Dad, I’m worried about her.”

  Interesting. “Well, Jason, to be honest right back at you, it’s you that I’m worried about.”

  “Me? Why?”

  William let out a dramatic sigh and then mentally congratulated himself on being so clever. “You asked for an assistant who wasn’t going to come on to you. We found you one. You asked for an assistant who is married. We found you one. You basically wanted a completely uncomplicated business companion that had no interest in you personally and yet here you are, attacking Maggie’s personal life. She’s your assistant; she’s nothing to you. Leave her personal life alone, it’s none of your concern.” His tone was mild but his words were meant to provoke.

  “What the hell is the matter with you?” Jason snapped. “Maggie’s more than just an assistant to me! She’s…” And then he caught himself and wished that he could take his words back. Dammit.

  “Jason,” William said, suddenly serious. “Maggie is just your assistant, right? You haven’t done anything to change that, have you?”

  His father knew him too well and Jason knew that lying would be pointless. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he admitted quietly. “I liked her work ethic; I enjoyed our conversations and then we started this trip and suddenly…I’m getting to know Maggie and I feel…connected to her somehow. I look forward to spending time with her and getting to know her and then I have to remind myself that she’s married and I realize that I’m no better than all of those women who’ve worked for me these last months.”

  “You are nothing like that, Jace,” his father replied solemnly. “How does Maggie feel?”

  Once again, Jason knew it would be pointless to lie. “I think she maybe feels the same way but…she’s married, Dad. I would never, ever do anything to jeopardize her marriage.”

  William took a deep breath and slowly let it out. It would be so easy to tell Jason that he had nothing to worry about but it wasn’t his place to reveal that little secret. “Talk to Maggie,” he said simply.

  “To what end, Dad? She’s married; she’s my assistant. There is no way that this can end well.”

  William repeated his words. “Trust me.”

  If only it were that easy, Jason thought. “It’s getting late,” he finally said, suddenly feeling mentally and physically exhausted.

  “Think about what I said, Jace.”

  “I will, Dad. Thanks for talking with me. Good night.”

  Jason powered down his phone and stripped and climbed into the king sized bed. Flipping the lights off, he rested against the pillows and stared into the darkness and wondered just what it was that he was going to do about this situation.

  He was a man who was used to being in control; he was a man who knew how to overcome every obstacle thrown in his path. Unfortunately, this was not a simple case of overcoming some red tape in a business deal or appeasing a difficult client.

  This was about his heart.

  This was about Maggie’s marriage.
/>   This was about a situation that would leave somebody hurt. And Jason didn’t want to be responsible for that.

  He had to force himself to put his focus back on his business. He had to force himself to remember that Maggie was off-limits no matter how much she tempted him. But most importantly, Jason had to remember that for the first time possibly in his life, he wasn’t going to get what he wanted.

  Chapter Five

  Five more days.

  Jason was staring out his hotel window overlooking the Atlanta skyline and let out a weary sigh. Those first few days immediately following the hockey game had been the hardest of his life. While being a hardass had never been a problem for him before, it was suddenly one now when the one he was being hard on stared back at him with sadness and confusion written all over her big brown eyes.

  It had taken every ounce of strength he possessed to not cave in.

  Not that he had been mean; no, Jason had strictly gone into extreme workaholic mode and spent every waking moment that he was with Maggie doing nothing that wasn’t directly related to Montgomery’s and the expansion project. They could probably go home right now and skip these last few days of meetings because things had gone so well as they’d traveled down the East Coast that Jason didn’t feel that they’d be missing out on anything. He had more than enough business to make him happy.

  But no; being the ultimate planner and perfectionist and knowing that he always finished what he started, Jason knew that he had to get through these last five days even if it killed him.

  And it just might.

  To her credit, Maggie never outright questioned Jason on his abrupt change in behavior. When they’d met for breakfast that Sunday morning in New York, he’d made sure that he was deeply entrenched in his agenda for their upcoming meetings. He’d questioned her lack of preparedness and had actually sent her back to her room to get her laptop so that she could get some work done after their day off.

  For the nine days that had followed, Jason had worked like a man possessed. He was up before dawn on most days and would utilize the hotel gyms before starting work. By the time he met up with Maggie daily, he had already gone through an hour of the only physical release he could manage. He pushed his body every morning to its limits and then did the same to his brain throughout the day until he fell into an exhausted sleep every night.